I began this review yesterday, but the lack of decent wi-fi and my boneheaded choice to not save my draft resulted a blank slate. I hope you enjoy this review of the new xx record and the David Byrne/St.Vincent collaboration, because I’m writing it (a second time) through gritted teeth.

The xx- Coexist

The xx blew many people away with their debut record, hooking audiences with simple grooves, reverb-soaked riffs, and compelling male/female vocal interplay. This new release, to be completely honest, is simply the second cd if the group had decided to release the debut as a double album. It’s a side B. The songwriting is the same almost to a fault, and all of the elements from the first record are there without any major changes.

Some may see this as a lack of creativity; I simply see it as a young band putting out more music they know people will like. The lack of any major changes works, because, well, their original sound works. One change I did notice this time around was a more fluid transition between tracks. I recognized and consciously separated tracks in the first record, while I felt a constant current-like smoothness between tracks this time around, which I felt was refreshing.

Overall, the album feels like part 2 of the debut, with a slightly more fluid track list. I grudgingly enjoyed it, but the group is going to have to do something different to keep my attention for their next effort.

Best Tracks: Angel, Chained, Try

David Byrne/St.Vincent- Love This Giant

I haven’t been this excited for an album in a very long time, and I was more than pleasantly surprised with this release from singer/songwriter St. Vincent and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. The songwriting is eclectic, charming, and curiously horn driven. Each artist wrote their own lyrics, with one exception being the Forest Wakes, which Byrne wrote. The album is simply delightful, still carrying the weird eclecticism that both artists channel, but in a little funkier, “saxier” (dear lord) fashion.

Overall, I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll be hooked.

Best Tracks: Who, Dinner for Two, Ice Age, Outside of Space and Time…all of it.

Welcome to Round 2 of my Double Review extravaganza. This week, two albums were released: Stars’ “The North” and Animal Collective’s “Centipede Cz”. Both groups have made impressive releases in the past, so I went into these reviews with fairly high expectations. Let’s see how they fared.

Stars- The North
The first thing I thought when the first track began was “This is different”, which is not a bad thing in the slightest. Stars has an uncanny ability to encapsulate me with one song or section, only to put me to sleep the next. Stylistically, The North goes for a more concise and traditional song form without sacrificing the effortless mix of strings, synth, guitar, and both live and electric drums. With this songwriting formula, as well as the excellent male/female lyrical counterpoint I’ve come to expect from Stars, you would assume that this is their best album yet. It isn’t to my ears.

Though this record merits multiple enjoyable listens, with a growth factor measured in, it still does not live up to the best tracks of Heart or records like In The Bedroom After the War or Set Yourself On Fire. There’s just a lack of energy and emotional sensitivity in The North that was displayed in spades in earlier endeavors. That element that kept bringing me back just isn’t there.

Now, this isn’t to say that the record is bad. The songwriting and structure are still superb, as is the production. I enjoyed listening to it. I just don’t feel that it has the longevity of previous works.

Best Tracks: Title Track, Theory of Relativity, A Song is A Weapon

Animal Collective- Centipede Cz

Deakin is back. After the critical acclaim of guitarless record Merriweather Post Pavilion, an excellent album in its own right, Deakin has returned from his hiatus to bring back some punch and texture, as well as his own peculiar style of songwriting. Those not familiar with AC’s earlier work may be a bit apprehensive to hear things get a little ‘weird’, but I personally love the input that the returning member had in Strawberry Jam and Feels.The real question remains; Did I enjoy his input on this record, and did I enjoy this record in general?

It’s a complicated answer to a simple question. It’s hard for me to listen to a musical group that has had such an impact on me previously, because I’ll have a heavy bias on those earlier works (some of you probably already know this from previous reviews). The simple answer is yes, I did enjoy it. However, I was not impressed with the songwriting and didn’t really notice any dramatic improvement in the bands’ execution. When I say improvement, I simply mean that nothing jumped out at me as original, and I didn’t notice any sections or stylistic touches unlike anything I’ve heard on their previous records. Call me crazy, but I feel like they were playing it safe.

Overall, a few songs popped for me, but not in the same memorable way that I’m used to when listening to these creative musical minds.

Best Tracks: Apple Sauce, Monkey Riches, Father Time

These reviews are obviously a week late, and they’ve been sitting on my desktop for the last 5 days. To make up for lost time, I’ll be reviewing The XX’s new release Coexist and the St.Vincent/David Byrne collaborative record Love This Giant tommorow.I’ll also be making a new page that includes my personal favorite albums of all time, just to give you a clue into my tastes and let you decide if you want to listen to me blab any longer. Ciao!

Well it’s been a crazy summer, and after my random unannounced hiatus, I’m here to deliver two mini-reviews for the albums I told you I was going to review and proceeded to never do. I will be much more active and strict in my update schedule now that I’m back to the grind/at school, and I hope you guys can look to me for your latest music cravings! For now, on with the reviews.

Passion Pit- Gossamer

What began as a dedicated EP for a soon-to-be ex of band leader Michael Angelakos has become one of the most energizing and exciting electro-pop acts on the scene. The groups’ sophomore effort, Gossamer, has much of the same catchy, synth-soaked appeal of the debut Manners, but with a much darker lyrical tone.
Angelakos was going through a lot of emotional crises during the creation of this album. Fits of depression, self hatred, and world-weariness were experienced on a daily basis, and the emotional responses to these difficulties is heard clearly in both vocal lines and the lyrics themselves. What makes this tone so vivid is what juxtaposes it; a bright synth, a danceable beat, and a major tonality. There were elements of a darker Michael in some of the the lyrical content of past works, but never with such prominence can they be heard than in Gossamer. However, there are still rays of hope that shine though the dreary, and it’s all sunshine in one of my favorite tracks, “I’ll Be Alright”.
As much as I enjoyed this album, it really didn’t live up to my expectations. Maybe I was expecting the same catchiness that has hot-glued numerous Manners tracks to my brain, and maybe that was too much to ask. Overall, the album is still an enjoyable ride, but it may take a few more listens to fully appreciate what I expected to hook me from 00:01.

Best Tracks: I’ll Be Alright, Constant Conversations

Dirty Projectors-Swing Lo Magellan

After Bitte Orca, a sun drenched, vocal harmony driven wonder of an outing, I think the Dirty Projectors wanted to move in 5 different directions. They wanted to mesh everything that they could into their sound without sacrificing what made them great. In my opinion, they did exactly that with Swing Lo Magellan.
What initially blew me off my heels was the integration of a more electronic sound. The first track has something like 808s, ladies in gentlemen. On the other side of the spectrum, the use of strings from past endeavors (including their work with Bjork) has taken a larger prominence, but they still have that distorted guitar to cut through and bring a rock attitude into all the other layers.
To put it simply, I love the album. Haley, Amber, and David take their harmonies and vocal prowess to new heights, and the disjointed-and-yet-whole guitar melodies and strumming are complimented by a wonderful rhythm section who are doing something new, while still maintaining the character I’ve come to love. For fans of previous works from the Dirty Projectors, I have one statement; If you like that, you’re gonna love this.

Best Tracks: Dance for You, Swing Lo Magellan, OffSpring Are Blank

So that’s that. I’ll be back tomorrow with the review for the newest Animal Collective album, Centipede Cz. Thanks for reading!

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